Heart of Steel
by Melomancer
Summary: A look into the mind of the lone defender of Nelveska Temple.


_Powering up…_

_Booting up main system…_

_Designation: Worker 7_

_Model #: SG-007_

_Type: Guardian-class worker_

_Primary Order: Guard research lab._

_Secondary Order: N/A_

_Tertiary Order: N/A_

_System diagnostic…_

_Energy at full strength. Weapon systems active, cooling systems functional._

_All systems functioning at optimal capacity_

_Warning! Warning! Warning!_

_Unknown organisms approaching lab. Traces of weapons found, most likely hostile. Charging weapons…_

_Activating defensive systems and protocols. 30… 29… 28… 27… 26… 25…_

_------_

Deep in the jungle on Nelveska, remnants of a lost civilization lie in the center, having been overrun by overgrowth from the surrounding wilderness. Vines crawl up the sides like prisoners of the ground desperate for the sky above, and intricate statues of cocatores and hyudras adorn the weatherworn temple, silent guardians of the ancient's secrets.

Deep inside the temple lurks a mechanical giant, a remainder of the civilization's past prime, protecting the secrets that lie deep inside. All who approach are met with unmatched fury, the giant using raw power to drive intruders away.

Rising from its slumber and raising itself into position, the mechanical behemoth wandered out of the temple towards the intruders, a small group of knights on patrol. It fixed a cold stare on them as it began to collect the necessary data.

It faced the group of knights in front of him, intruders in this silent paradise. Scanning the knights, it saw the weapons in their hands and readied itself for combat, preparing itself for this threat.

Energy surging through his metal frame, steam rising from the cooling vent, it began to charge its weapons…

------

…_0. Defense systems online ._

------

"Warning! Civilians are prohibited here!" Roared the monster, a hollow voice from a bygone age. "You have 30 seconds to leave the area-"

Before it could finish, sparks began to fly from its back, jerking around madly, its limbs flailing as electricity began to erupt from its systems. Then it stopped, and it went silent.

The knights stared at the inactive behemoth in front of them. A few of them gasped, afraid of the steel giant and its potential, while others approached it slowly, apprehensive of the silent beast.

It merely sat there, dormant, energy dying down, its red eyes flickering. The flow of sparks stopped, and the machination sat still.

------

_Warning! Warning! Warning!_

–_system error- Damage to main system: cannot charge energy. Rerouting energy through auxillery system. Connecting to reserve power…_

_Activating genocide mode in 3… 2… 1…_

------

"Genocide mode!" it roared once more, startling the knights as it rose to its feet with newfound energy. Electricity surged through the steel frame, filling it with power, as he quickly transformed his hand into a drill. "Researchers evacuate to the shelter immediately!"

It charged towards the nearest knight, ramming its drill-hand into his stomach. The sound of flesh tearing and bones snapping filled the air as the drill tore through the knight like paper, ripping apart the organs that kept him alive. Blood pooled from the gaping hole punctured through the knight by the whirring drill.

It pulled its hand free from the knight's body, letting the body drop to the ground, and turned to the other knights, fixing a cold stare on them.

"W-what is that thing?" it could hear the knights whisper, although it didn't care. Its only priority was to guard the temple, although it didn't know why. It only knew that it had to be protected at all costs, lest it be destroyed.

One of the knights, in a blind rage at the despair of losing his friend, charged the machination, sword ready. He swung the sword towards the the machine, while it merely fixed its cold stare on the warrior, its hands changing into large metal bricks.

With one hand it stopped the blade, easily snapping it in half from the force of the strike. The knight stared in shock, as his blade flew through the air, embedding itself in a nearby rock, leaving him weaponless against the machine.

The giant slammed the other hand down on the knight, the weight of the brick shattering the knight's back, paralyzing him. The knight fell to the ground, shards of bone protruding from the back, slowing dying an agonizing death as his organs slowly gave out from lack of blood, hemorraging from the shards of bone that embedded themselves inside them.

The other knights stared in shock at the deaths of two of their allies, quivering as their fear began to take hold of them. They broke into a run, desperate to escape this mechanical beastie, while it merely stared after them.

Then, as if knowing what would then follow, it opened its chest, revealing a massive cannon, and began to charge it.

------

_Pulse Cannon charging. Full charge in 5…4… 3… 2… 1…_

_Pulse Cannon fully charged. Firing in 3… 2… 1…_

_------_

The energy fired from the cannon, ripping through the air in a malevolent shriek in a straight path for the fleeing knights. The air quivered from the heat of the blast, as it charged towards its target, intent on their destruction.

The blast hit the knights dead-on, the energy ripping through their armor like tin-foil, burrowing itself into their flesh. Their screams filled the air as they felt their flesh being eaten away by the blast, melting from the sheer heat, scorching them to their very bone, eating away at their very life-force.

When the blast died away, the smoke clearing, all that was left were fragments of red-hot metal and piles of ash. Nothing remained of the knights, as every trace of them was obliterated in one fell swoop.

------

_Warning! Warning! Warning!_

_Weapon systems overheating. Deactivating genocide mode…_

_------_

The steel giant began to power down, its cannons retracting back inside its chest. Steam billowed from the vent on the back into the sky, the giant beginning to power down from exertion.

It headed back into the temple, its job finished for now, to gather its strength for the next invasion. It slowly trudged down the halls of the temple, staring straight down the corridor, eventually reaching the end.

It slumped to the ground, its systems slowly whirring to a halt, shutting down, preparing to recharge from the energy lost while defending the temple. Its systems slowly shut down, one by one, until it fell silent, no longer humming with energy.

This was how it was for Worker 7. Constantly it defended its home from intruders, simply following orders, always utterly destroying them. Every day it would run the same diagnostic, and every day it would shut down to recharge…

…because it was a machine, and it knew of nothing else.

_------_

_Energy at half strength. Weapons systems overheating, cooling systems overloading._

_Recharge cycle commencing. Estimated time for completion: 1.5 hours._

_Shutdown commencing…_

…


End file.
